41212
Strengths: This is the most balanced formation in the game and gives you a little bit of everything which is obviously a plus point. This formation, for some reason wasnt as popular at the start of FIFA 14 but once a few players saw others having huge success with it, and tutorials appeared online etc, it soon became one of the most used again. Its strength lies in great passing options. Even on the diagram above you can see that all the pitch is covered with triangles between players.

Weaknesses: A weakness for this formation is the RM and LM in that they can be a little bypassed as the spine of your team is so strong. Having someone like Bale who is a more all-round complete wide man is definitely more beneficial so choose your wide players wisely.

Key player/position: Although there is no stand out player/position for this formation as it is so balanced we have selected the CAM. Most of your play will hinge on his positioning and his ability to play good, sharp passes.

Most suited style of play: This is one of the great things about this formation. It can be used for balanced, slow, possession play but also quick, sharp passing.


4222
Strengths: A huge variety of attacking options with, in effect, a front 4. A very balanced formation and youll always find that you have good numbers of players when defending or attacking. The 2 CDMs provide great cover and with 2 hard working full-backs youre going to be defending with 6 players (plus your GK) which will make you extremely hard to break down. The attacking options make this a great formation for FUT.

Weaknesses: The 2 CAMs will tend to be positioned in wider areas where they more often than not are not suited. They favour central areas which can leave a lack of wide options. If youre someone who likes to cross the ball in lots then we would suggest avoiding this formation. If you have CDMs with high attacking work rates this can lead to a cluster of players in the CAM position which is obviously easier to defend against.

Key player/position: The 2 CDMs. You can break this formation down into three sections. A front 4, a back 4 and 2 holding midfield men. Obviously the 2 are down on numbers so it is pivotal that you have 2 strong players in that area of the pitch.

Most suited style of play: Medium to fast build-up play. Longer passes to get the ball into the front 4 as quick as possible as there are a lack of numbers in central areas.


4-4-2 (2)
Strengths: Probably thought of as THE classic formation, but thought of as less fashionable and definitely, less used formation. However, this version of the 4-4-2, we like. It is still a fairly well balanced formation and an effective one with the right squad of players. As with the 4-2-2-2 formation, the 2 STs obviously provide you with opportunities for the vastly dangerous 1-2 passing as well as holding the ball up in the final 3rd of the pitch. These are the key players as well as the 2 CDMs. They make you a really hard unit to break down.

Weaknesses: A huge disadvantage of this formation and probably the reason for its decline in popularity is, without the right players with the correct work rates you can be easily overrun in the middle of the pitch. If you look at the diagram, you can see the huge gap in the CAM area. If the opposition has a deep lying playmaker such as Pirlo then they can find huge space to dictate the play which is obviously something you want to try and avoid.

Key player/position: The 2 STs play a key role in this formation. At times they can become a tad isolated especially with having the have 2 defensive minded midfielders or even more so, if the wide midfielders are quite conservative in their forward runs as well. Therefore, it is important they can work together to create chances for themselves as having wingers who want to join attacks like Reus or Robben, is definitely something you want to try and have with this set-up.

Most suited style of play: Possession play with medium range passing and speed of play. Long balls into STs can work too if played accurately and quickly from deeper areas in your own half from CDMs with high passing stats

The Custom Tactic is devided into the 3 main points in bold.

Build Up Play
-Speed
-Passing
-Positioning

Chance Creation
-Passing
-Crossing
-Shooting
-Positioning

Defence
-Pressure
-Aggression
-Team Width
-Defender line


Build Up Play
This stands for how your team plays in the first 2-thirds of the pitch

Speed:
1-32 is slow build up,
33-66 is medium build up play
67-99 is fast build up play

Passing:
1-32 is short and safe simple passes - Tiki Taka
33-66 is mixed passes so a variation of short and long - Balanced
67-99 is long ball galore - Stoke
Please note that these values work together, if you set the speed to 30 and the passing to 80, that will not work.
It's basicly telling your team you want to build up slow, but to play long balls as much as they can. No logic in that right? I would say the difference between Speed and Passing is maximum 35-40.
for example: Speed: 65 Passing 34

Positioning
This stands for off the ball movement.

Organised:
Limited movement. Your player will stick to his role and will make space as best he can in that role.
Meaning a CDM will stay back as much as he can, and a RM will try to stay close to the line as much as possible.
Free Form:
More freedom for player movement and allows players to move around more to make space, creating more passing options and more diversity to your build up. a RM will be able to cut inside for you to make the killer pass.


Chance Creation
This determines if a player will make a risky run to receive through passes.
The higher the number the more runs the players will make.

Passing:
1-32 is short simple passes to slowly work your way towards goal, like how barcelona plays
33-66 is a mix of short passes and through balls
67-99 your players will make as much runs as possible, expecting the through pass to come.

Crossing
This determines the movement of your strikers when you are close on the wings.How your strikers act when a player is on the wing, if this is high as soon as you get it on the wing a player will bomb into the box expecting a cross, if its low they will hang outside the box or make late runs .

1-32 Little: your players will run towards the wing to receive a short ball.
33-66 Normal: your players will either make a run to receive the cross for a header, or offer himself for the short pass
67-99 Lots: your players will make a lot of runs in the box, waiting for the cross to head it in

Shooting
1-32- Players will not move into good shooting positions, instead they will try to offer themselves for passes and waiting for the forwards to arrive.
33-66 Players will position themselves to get a fair amount of shooting opportunities, a mixture of being in the box and dropping to the edge to get the chance to shoot
67-99 Players will try to get in as many shooting positions possible, mainly by dropping to the edge of the box they will want to the ball to shoot. Basicly you're telling your players to just shoot when you have the ball.

Positioning
Same as explained earlier but this time it's meant for the Final Third of the pitch.


Defence
This is how wide and how much pressure you want to give

Pressure
This determines how high your team will press up the pitch

1-32 Stay back
33-66 Press till the middle line
67-99 Press as much as you can

Aggression
How aggressive your player will be when the opponent has the ball

1-32 Not charging in on the player, containing
33-66 Close in to the player
67-99 Double charge in on the player, very aggressive

If you set pressure and aggression very low ( < 25 ), your defence will stay very deep.
This is very helpful against people who only play lobbed through balls, since they will be much less effective if your defence is playing this deep.

Team Width
How wide your team plays

1-32 Narrow: Your team will focus on one side of the pitch if the player as control of the ball. LB may end up as CB if your opponent is on the right side of the pitch, cause your team will charge to the right side. Leaving your left side wide open.
33-66 Normal: Your team will stay balanced, keeping some width in the field
67-99 Wide: Your team will stay as wide as possible, keeping most players in position. LB stays LB.

Cover:
Defenders will always cover up runs made by your defenders, meaning if your LCB ending up too much on the left side of the pitch, the RCB will make the run to cover up his position.

Offside trap:
Is stepping up when your opponent makes a run.